KUALA LUMPUR — The government will stick to the old ways of filling key government posts for now as it is not yet the law for the candidates to be screened by the parliamentary select committee for major appointments, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said the law to make the process mandatory has to be passed by two-thirds of Parliament.

“They (select committee) cannot function legally yet,” he said after chairing the Economic Action Council meeting today.

Certain provisions in the federal constitution would have to be amended to legalise the parliamentary select committee, he said.

“To change that we need a two-thirds majority and the government doesn’t have the two-thirds majority.”

As such, Dr Mahathir said that for now, the appointments will be made the old way, in which the prime minister has the prerogative to pick the candidates.

On whether the cabinet was consulted on previous appointments of heads of key government agencies, Dr Mahathir said he is not required to do so.

“I am not required to consult the cabinet. I can ask for opinions from various people and to decide based on the merits of the candidate.”

Debates raged over the recent appointment of Ms Latheefa Koya as the new chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), who was picked by Dr Mahathir on his sole discretion and without prior consultation with cabinet members. THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT